Paint marking apparatus



May 1, 1956 c. .1. NELSON EIAL PAINT MARKING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 5, 1954 INVENTOR. CHARLES J .NELSON By EVAN S. NELSON ATTORNEYS U tdStatSPatn PAINT MARKING APPARATUS Charles J. Nelson and Evan S. Nelson, Iron Mountain, Mich.

The present invention relates. to ,paintguns and more particularly to paint marking guns adapted for marking a wide variety of objects both outdoors and indoors. 'Among the advantages of the paint marking gun described herein as embodying the invention is that it can be screwed directly onto a can of paint. A person using the gun described does not have to pour any paint from one containerinto another. When a can of paint has been used up, hemerely unscrews it from the handle of the gun and throws'it away. As soon as a'new can of paint is screwed onto the handle, the gun is ready for further use. Thus, substantially no time is lost in recharging the gun.

Moreover, a readily detachable screw cap seals up the nozzle of the gun when not in use so that the paint does not harden in it and require cleaning. This cap includes a ram rod which slides snugly within the nozzle orifice as the cap is screwed on the nozzle. Thus, the paint is pushed out of the orifice and whenever the cap is removed, the gun is immediately ready for use. A nipple on the gun with a central hole carries the cap when the gun is in use and the hole protects the ram rod.

A further advantage of the gun described is that the nozzle orifice piece is reversible. If any dirt happens to get into the gun and plug the nozzle, a person using it merely reverses the nozzle and pulls the trigger. The paint then squirts through the nozzle in the opposite direction and clears it of the obstruction.

Another advantage is that the can of paint is held at the end of the handle by an adapter so that the can is somewhat below the position where a person holds onto the handle. Thus, the person is allowed maximum freedom in aiming and swinging the gun for the marking strokes of the nozzle. The position of the can balances the gun assembly in the persons hand and provides a comfortable feel in use regardless of whether the can is full or nearly empty.

The gun assembly is strong, light weight, and easy-tohandle. Among the many things for which the gun is particularly well suited are, for example, in marking trees, lumber, concrete blocks, and other building materials, steel products, railroad cars and ties, packing crates, roadways, etc.

In all cases the user is freed from the problems of handling paint in funnels, canteens, gun cans or strainers or of thinning or stirring paint. He is freed from the chore of cleaning the equipment after each use.

The various other advantages and aspects of the present invention will be in part apparent from and in part pointed out in the following description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view, partially broken away and partially in section, of a paint marking gun embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the nozzle portion of the gun shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the nozzle and the nozzle orifice piece; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the sealing cap adapted to screw on the end of the nozzle toTseal the gun when not in use.

The gun shown in Figure 1 includes a barrel 2 secured to a body portion 4 with a handle 6. A trigger 8 is held by a pivot 9 on the body portion 4 and is adapted to actuate a piston mechanism, generally indicated at 10, which depends from the lower end of the handle 6. The piston mechanism is arranged to fit down into a paint can 12 near its bottomso that as the operator alternately squeezes .and releases the trigger the paint in the can 12 is admitted throughstrainer 13 past a ball check valve 14 into a cylinder 15 and is driven by a piston 16 up through the output passage 17, past another ball check valve 18 and up a tube 19, through a passage 20 in the body portion 4 to the barrel 2. The paint is projected through a nozzle piece 22 (see also Figure 3) in the form of a fine stream, highly suited for marking purposes. The orifice piece 20 has an axial bore including a restricted central portion 26 connected by short tapered sections to a pair of enlarged openings 28, one in each of the identical threaded ends 30. Either one of the ends 30 is adapted to fit into the end of the barrel 2, while the other projects from the end of the barrel, where it can receive a sealing cap 32 when the gun is not in use. The end of the barrel 2 around the nozzle piece is threaded on the outside to hold a retaining sleeve 34 having an inner shoulder 36, which embraces a central annular ridge 38 on the orifice piece 22 to hold it firmly in place on the end of the barrel.

In order to seal tightly the orifice piece when the gun is not in use, the cap 32 includes a gasket 39 therein and adapted to abut against the outer end 30. A central wire or ramrod 40 extends up from the bottom of the cap 32 through the gasket 34 and projects a short dis- -tance from the end of the cap 32 so as to fit into the restricted bore 26 of the nozzle piece when the cap is screwed in place. It is a distinct advantage of this arrangement that the ramrod 40 prevents any paint from hardening within the bore 26 of the orifice piece and plugging it up. Merely unscrewing the cap 32 opens up the bore, and the gun is ready for use.

If the bore 26 becomes plugged by any dirt particles, it can be cleared, merely by unscrewing the sleeve 34 and turning the piece 22 end for end so that the paint is squirted through in the reverse direction. The centrally located orifice 26 with its tapered approaches facilitates such clearing action.

A hollow nipple 42 is provided on the rear of the body portion 4 adapted to hold the cap 32 when the gun is in use. The ramrod 40 is sheathed in the hole 44 in the nipple 42.

The can 12 is held spaced from the end of the handle 6 by an adapter collar 48 having an enlarged lower end into which the neck of the paint can is screwed and a smaller upper end that screws into the end of the handle 6. A spacing disk 50 closes oif the end of the handle 6 and holds the tube 19 and a piston rod 52 in alignment within the handle 6. The upper end of the piston rod 52 is connected to a trigger link 54, and the piston rod extends down through the spacing disk 50, past a gasket 56 to the piston 16. A compression spring 58 around the piston rod 52 thrusts down against a pin and washer 59 and presses up against the gasket 56 to hold it firmly in place against the underside of the spacing disk 50. A second compression spring 60 around the piston rod 52 held at its upper end by a pin and washer 62, bears down against the top of cylinder 15 and serves to return the piston 16 to the top of the cylinder after each stroke. The piston 16 is held on a the reduced end of the piston rod 52 and rests up against a' shoulder 64 on the piston rod and includes an upper washer, a pair of leather cup washers 66 in back-to-back relationship and a lower washer; all secured by a nut 68 on the end of the piston rod.

When the can 12 is empty, it is unscrewed from theadapter collar 48 and thrown away and a new can is screwed in place into the bottom of the collar.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that the present invention is well adapted to attain the ends and objects set forth hereinabove, and that it provides many advantages as described. The embodiment of the invention described is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art how to use the" present invention but is not to be construed as limiting of the present invention, which can be modified in various ways each as may be best suited to a particular application without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

In a paint marking gun apparatus'comprising reciprocating pump means, a conduit communicating with said pump means and having an end spaced from said pump means, a symmetrical reversible nozzle piece having a central annular flange portion and two oppositely extending end portions of smaller diameter and having an orifice extending therethrough, said end portions being externally threaded, the external diameter of said threaded end portions being less than the inner diameter of the end of saidconduit, a removable collar surrounding said nozzle piece and in threaded engagement with the end of said conduit and having an inner shoulder arranged to clamp either side of said flange portion of the nozzle piece releasably against said end of the conduit with its corresponding threaded end portion extending into said conduit and with its other threaded end portion projecting from the collar, saidv orifice having a central restricted bore within said flange portion tapering into enlarged bores within said threaded end portions, a hollow cap having an internally threaded end adapted to screw onto the projecting threaded end portion of said nozzle piece, and a ram rod secured within said cap and adapted to enter said restricted bore when said cap is screwed thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,900,668 Roselund Mar. 7, 1933 1,991,523 Robinson Feb. 19, 1935 2,118,451 Hansen May 24, 1938 2,564,431 Greenspoon Aug. 14, I951 FOREIGN PATENT S 338,002 Italy Mar. 28, 1936 600,754 Great Britain Apr. 19, 1948 

